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Game Notes: Rangers vs. Carolina Hurricanes

by
Staff Writer
/ New York Rangers

VS.

Tonight’s Game

The Rangers face-off against the Carolina Hurricanes tonight at Madison Square Garden (7:00 p.m.) in the second game of a back-to-back set. The Blueshirts currently sit atop the Atlantic Division standings with a record of 19-11-2, and rank second in the Eastern Conference with 40 points. The Rangers enter tonight's contest having been defeated by the Devils, 8-5, yesterday at the Prudential Center, and have won five of their last nine games. Following tonight's contest, the Rangers will begin a three-game, West Coast road trip on Tuesday, December 16, when they will travel to Anaheim to take on the Ducks at the Honda Center (10:00 p.m.). The Hurricanes, 13-12-4, currently rank 10th in the Eastern Conference standings with 30 points, and have lost seven of their last nine games.

Tune In Tonight!Today's game will be televised on MSG. You can also catch the radio broadcast on WABC (770 AM) and on satellite radio at XM 208.

Rangers vs. Hurricanes Pre-Game Notes

* The Rangers are 11-6-1 at home this season; The Hurricanes have posted a 6-4-3 record in 13 road contests.

* The Rangers are 7-2-0 against the Southeast Division this season; The Hurricanes have posted a 4-5-0 record vs. Atlantic Division opponents this season.

* The Rangers are 3-1-1 in the second game of back-to-back sets this season, including a 2-0-0 mark at home.

* New York has held opponents scoreless on the power play in five of the last six contests (18-19, 94.7%), and rank first in the league on the season with a 90.1% success rate (109 of 121).

* The Blueshirts tallied three goals in 17 power play opportunities (17.6%) in four games vs. the Hurricanes last season.

* New York has won eight of the last 12 meetings with Carolina at MSG, posting a 8-2-1-1 record during the stretch.

* Henrik Lundqvist has posted a 5-4-0 record, along with a 2.21 goals against average and one shutout in nine career regular season appearances vs. Carolina.

* Last season, Scott Gomez tied for the team lead with four points and led the club with four assists in four games vs. the Hurricanes, while Chris Drury tied for the team lead with two goals.

* Gomez has registered 23 points (two goals and 21 assists) in 28 career games vs. the Hurricanes; Wade Redden has notched 19 points (three goals and 16 assists) in 46 career games vs. Carolina; Markus Naslund has recorded 17 points (seven goals and 10 assists) in 24 career contests vs. the Hurricanes.

* Gomez has recorded 11 points (one goal and 10 assists) in his last nine regular season contests vs. Carolina.

* Nikolai Zherdev is tied for sixth in the NHL with 23 even strength points.

* Gomez (one goal and two assists), Zherdev (one goal and three assists) and Markus Naslund (one goal and one assist) combined for nine points (three goals and six assists) last night in New Jersey.

* Michael Del Zotto, the Rangers' first round choice (20th overall) in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft, has registered six goals and 22 assists for 28 points in 27 games with the Oshawa Generals of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) this season; Del Zotto has recorded at least one point in nine of his last 11 games, tallying 13 points (four goals and nine assists) over the span.

* The Rangers have lost nine manpower games due to injury or illness this season.

Highlights from HartfordFollow the progress of the Rangers' top prospects:

The Wolf Pack have won back-to-back games for the first time since Oct. 25 and Oct. 29, after knocking off the Worcester Sharks (San Jose affiliate) 4-1 in Hartford on Friday night. It was the Pack’s first win in four tries (1-2-0-1) vs. the divisional-rival Sharks, and it came on the heels of the Wolf Pack’s first shutout of the season, a 2-0 win vs. Providence (Boston affiliate) on Wednesday at the XL Center. Ken Gernander’s club is in the midst of a stretch that sees it play six out of seven games at home, and the Pack have won three straight at home and are 4-1-0-1 in their last six on the home rink. A four-games-in-five-days week continues tonight (7:00) with a home game vs. Springfield (Edmonton affiliate), and then the Wolf Pack travel to Worcester for a rematch with the Sharks tomorrow (4:05).